Cassandra
Cassandra cleaned her power armor as it hung in the locker of their newly built forward base in the hills of Hartstone. She had to admit to herself that there was some natural beauty in the world itself. It had a charm that only a wild, untamed world could have. The star system was an unimportant, minor subsystem, even in the Nerthus Sector of the Nakon Union.
There couldn’t have been more than ten thousand people in the whole system. It didn’t even have a proper space station, orbital defenses, or let alone a star fortress. The world of the Hartstone was all that was inhabited, but for a handful of minor mining outposts spread throughout the outer system.
Lord Jolt, the Lord of Hartstone, could hardly have afforded the 10th Legion, even a single company likely would have been worth more than the whole world produced in a year. The so-called king of the Nerthus Sector might not have had the strength to defend her people, but one couldn’t say they she didn’t care, at least not enough to shelled out a small fortune to hire a legion of the Imperial Guard of Jom, and the 10th cost more than most legions in the Jom.
Cassandra scrubbed her armor, she enjoyed at least being part of the deployed forces onto the surface of Hartstone. The 3rd Battalion of the 13th Regiment were the only ground force unit deployed to the world of Hartstone, eight and half hundred guardsmen spread out among the small scattered settlements, along with a Band of starfighter pilots from 8th Regiment. while the rest of the legion remained on board the Star Carrier ‘The Cave’, the ancient warship which had served as the warship of the 10th Legion for more than three hundred years, with a name many years older still.
Cassandra couldn’t recall how many starships had been named ‘The Cave’. She was never good at remembering her history lessons. ‘The Cave’ would leave orbit shortly, and the 3rd Battalion of Dragoons, and 1st Band of starfighters would be all that remained of the Legion in system to defend it while ‘The Cave’ went on to deploy forces throughout another three subsystems in the Sector.
The four companies of the Battalion had been split around the world of Hartstone. The 1st Battalion had been given the task of defending the largest continent on the planet, although it was the third most populous of the five continents. The 1st Band of the Company was stationed shortly outside one of the larger towns, but there were less than five hundred in the largest town on the world, and their small village had less than a quarter of that, and was instead mostly homesteads, and hold-fasts dotted the area.
High Thane Goldwright of the 1st Band, and the other 52 members had spent the first days after being deployed setting up their base of operations with portable equipment from ‘The Cave’. The High Thane had found a commanding defensive position in the hills and trees that gave them quick access to the surrounding area, as well as would let them spot any incoming threats from the planet.
Cassandra couldn’t say she was looking forward to being left on the world. She wasn’t worried about the ten thousand or so locals which called it home. The eight hundred and fifty three members of the 3rd Battalion would be more than enough to handle them, even without the aid of the four Retinues of the 1st Band of Starfighters which were also scattered throughout the world.
By all reports the locals of Hartstone were supportive of the 10th, and the contract which their king had commissioned them for. On top of garrison duty, they would help train locals into a militia force to aid in the defense of their world from whatever raiders had been bothering the sector.
No Cassandra was worried about the reports that mentioned yearly raids, and attacks from pirates, raiders, and looters. Reports mentioned they often came from the Old Ruins to attack the subsystems of the Nerthus Sector, as such attacks often came from the sectors which bordered the Old Ruins. Frigates, corvettes, and smaller starships mostly, but the world had suffered attack from an Escort class starship in the past, and without a fleet or orbital defenses, Hartstone was an easy target.
Any of the starships would have more than enough firepower to blast the small settlements from orbit, or even the forces of the Battalion without the protection of ‘The Cave’ or it’s support craft. They wouldn’t have the personnel to challenge the Battalion dirt side though, even without the starfighter support.
The Escort class starships had a crew as large as the battalion though. They wouldn’t have fighting numbers, or combat gear of the 3rd, but they would have the advantage of a ship in orbit to support them, and being able to concentrate their powers while the Battalion was spread out. Most Escort class starships would also have at least two Retinues worth of starfighters, not to mention heavy starfighters, assault boats, and possibly even corvettes.
The 3rd Battalion might have support from the locals they were hired to train, but that was cold comfort to Cassandra. She knew that one of the twelve Raider class Corvettes, six Pillage class frigates, or two Patrol class destroyers, of ‘The Cave’ would be in daily communication with Commander Peak, but she also knew how quick an attack could come and go, and ‘The Cave’ could be up to three to four days away depending on it’s own patrol route. Still it was grateful that the hangar bays of the Star Carrier were so large as to hold that many support craft.
Commander Peak had also requested extra supplies, and gear. The Band of 53 starfighters, providing short range support, and patrols of the system would be supported by several drones, and planetary turrets. It wouldn’t be enough for much more than a bloody nose if someone were serious about an attack, but it was better than nothing Cassandra figured.
“Hey, are you going to give us a hand or keep sitting on your ass all day?” Edmund asked as he walked by Cassandra, and knocked her out of her thoughts. He carried a large supply crate with Retainer Reed.
“That’s what we have bots for,” Cassandra replied with a large smirk. There were several different Bots assigned to any unit within a Legion, everything from minor cleaning, and maintenance bots, to large combat, and security bots.
“I hope you do not believe I will be doing your job?” came the simple voice of Guard Zap, the 1st Retinue’s own Echo unit, and Retainer Reed’s direct CO.
“Of course not Zap,” Cassandra said with a casual smile. Zap was one of the four Echo’s units in the Band which had full control over, and rights over their own bodies. She, like the others, were full members of the legion, on their own path to full citizenship within Furse Space. They had already served a full lifetime as Echo’s within the WRAITH System that each member of the Imperial Guard wore on their wrists, and would still be members of the Imperial Guard after Cassandra’s own death, even if she lived into old age.
“Good,” the Guard said quickly. Zap was over a hundred already, but the AI was only full rank above her own rank of Retainer, the lowest rank one could hold in the Imperial Guard outside that of a recruit training to become a guardsmen within the Imperial Guard.
Zap had taken the voice of a female, and it often made Cassandra wonder what her own Echo would morph into after her own death, when she would be granted her own rights for service. Human or AI, everyone served the Empire, even when the Empire didn’t exist.
“The Cave is leaving orbit in the next hour, and Sub-Commander Groves wants to get another round of supplies in before it does,” Thane Vault cut in as he walked by with his own case in both hands. “Move your ass retainer, or I’ll have you digging shit pits until the end of the contract.”
“Yes ser,” Cassandra mumbled as she stood from her stool, and gave a half hearted salute by slamming her right fist into the top left of her chest.
